Dry-material-feeding machine



July 14, 1925. 1,546,069

E. E. HARPER DRY MATERIAL FB/EDING MACHINE Filed Fb.- 1, 1924 2Sheets-Sheet 2 2492. I i y-5.

IN V/i/VTOR feeding machine.

' ed embodiment of PATENT OFFICE.

man 1. mm, or msas cm, nssoum.

DBY- IA'I'EBIAL-IEEDING MACHINE Application fled February 1, 19M. lerlllIo. 680,91'L' To all whom it may aom'em:

Be it known that I, Emma E. HARPER, a citizen of the United States,residing at- Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry-Material-Feeding Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which itappertains to make-and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to a'dry-material It is intended for deliveringmeasured quantities of dry material and it is particularly applicable asa machine for delivering measured quantities of dry material to a liquidcontaining tank or rece tacle.

e illustrated embodiment of the invention is designed for deliveringmeasured quantities of dry materials to a dissolving tank. Any suitabledry material may v fed through the machine so I do not wish to belimited to the exclusion of" any particular material but by way ofexample, lime or lime and aln mmav be used.

The invention comprehends the inclusion of a hopper having a dischargeorifice through which measured quantities of the dry material may be fedon to a receiving table tobe mechanically moved off into the tank orreceptacle .by a sweep operated by means for varying the amplitude ofmove. ment of the sweep so that varying quanti-* ties of the materialmay be swept off the table by intermittent motions communicated to thesweep by the operating mechanism of the machine; Means is provided forconstantly agitating the material in the hopper so that the hopper willnot become clogged and if" esired an automatic control may be embodie 'nthe machine for controlling the movement of the sweep soas to vary thequantity of dry material fed into the receptacle in proportion to theamount of water to be treated.

The specific construction ofthe illustratthe invention will be describedhereinafter. reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 11s a perspective view of a drymate'rial feeding machineconstructed in accarry a valve 8 duction gear 17 receiving its 'cordancewith my invention, parts being.

broken away to better illustrate certain other parts.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view through the agitators in elevation,

hopper showing the the table being also shown in section. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal sectional view through the hopper. 1 Fig. 4.- is a detailedview of an automatic feed control attachment, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the liquid receptacle.

The hopper 1 is illustrated as supported upon suitable legs or standards2. The hopper has a constricted bottom provided with an outlet opening 3through which the material may be fed onto a receiving table to behereinafter referred to. Depending from the hopper is a skirt 5 throughwhich project valve supporting rods 6 and 7 which in the form of aSlide.the rods being movable longitudinallv in the skirt to move the valveacross the opening 3 to varv the effective port area thereof. Mounted insuitable bearings 9 and 10 is a be rock shaft 11 which extends throughthe hopper and which carries spaced segmental agitators 12 so that whenthe rock shaft is rocked the agitators will agitate the material withinthe hopper so as to prevent it from caking. Between the two sets ofsegmental agitators illustrated is a depending agitating arm-13 havingan sion 14 movable in an are substantially parallel to the bottom of thehopper so that it not only constitutes an'agitator but also a scrapertoprevent accumulation of the dry material on the bottom of the hopper.The rock shaft-11 is actuated by a crank arm 15, receiving its motionfrom a link 15', eccentrically connected to the disk 16 on a remotionfrom a motor 18 through a ,belt 19 and pulley 26, the latter-being partof the reduction gear. Any suitable reduction gear may be employed, butI recommend a worm gear of appropriate construction and for conveniencean electric motor may be employed. The crank arm 14 carries a dependingon 21 to which one end of afsweep arm 22 is loosely connected. The sweeparm 1s located between two lugs 23 and 24 carried by the end 21 and inthe lugs are adjustable stop screws 25 and 26, which may be adjusted inthe lugs to va .ry the distance beeen h r ends and sum th sw p armL-shaped extenis loosely connected to the depending segmental end 21 ofthe crank 14, it will'be apparent that there is a lost motion connectionbetween the crank arm 14 and the sweep arm 22, hence the amplitude ofmovement of the sweep arm will be varied by adjusting the set screws 25and 26. The sweep arm 22 carries a clamping bar 27 so that a sweep 28may be clamped to the arm 22 as will be clearly seen by reference ,toFig. .1.

The sweep moves over a receiving table 29 supported by the rod 30adjustable in the vertical slots 31 and 32 of the skirt 5 so that-thetable may be adjusted vertically with respect to the being obvious thatthe amount of material deposited upon the table through opening 3 willvary according'to the relative distance between the table 29 and thebottom of the hopper. i

When the motor is operated the gearing will cause a rocking motion to beimparted to the arm 15 to rock the shaft 11. Since the agitators and thescraperfare all rigid with the shaft 11, it is obvious that the materialwill be agitated in the hopper so it will be in a loose, finely dividedcondition to feed by gravity through the opening 3, the amount ofmaterial fed onto the table 29 depending of course upon the effectiveport area. of the opening 3 and the position of the table 29 withrespect to the bottom of the hopper. The amplitude of movement of thesweep will depend upon-the position of the set screws 25 and 26 for ifthe set screws 25 and 26 arefar apart, it follows there can bean.appreciable movement of the depending end 21 before any movement 1scommunicated to the sweep arm 22, but

if the set screws are close together, there will be a greater movementimparted to the sweep arm and consequently a greater amount of materialwill be swept off the table than would be possible with a slightmovement of the sweep. vThe material falling into the tank 4 will beagitated so as to thoroughly co-mingle with the water theremand be eually dissolved. This effect can be accomphshed by introducing the waterthrough the pipes 33 and 34 which enter the tank 4at a tangent so as tocause the water to swirl about the axis of the ,tank, the discharge fromthe tank being through a pipe 35 communicating with chamber 35 separatedfrom the main portion of the tank by a partition 36 which extends fromthe top nearly to thebottom of the tank so that the chamber 35 will bein the middle of a quiescence zone separated from the agitating chamber37.

It will be apparent that a device constructed in accordance with myinvention will -ie d measured quantities of dry material into a liquidreceptacle or tank in uniform doses, the size of the dose varying bottomof thehopper, it

according to the adjustments made and if varying the dose 'in proportionto the ;.desired, I may provide anattachment for v amount of water to betreated. The tank 38 may be connected by suitable pi ingto thewater'supply to be treated, so t at the float 39 will rise or fall inproportion to the flow of waterv-to be treated. In the tank is a float39 connected to a lever arm- 40 by a connection 41 the lever arm beingadapted to rock about its pivot 42 upon a The lever arm rise and fall ofthe float 39.

for a pin 48 extending through the lower end of the sweep arm 32. Theadjusting screws 25 and 26 will be set to give the maximum stroke to thespring swee arm 22 and the sweep is set to deliver t e required amountof chemical when the float -39'is at its greatest height and the cams.are farthest apart. If the water level is lowered, the float 39 willdrop, bringing the cams v46 and 47 closer together, thus reducing theare through which thesweep may travel. This may continue until thetravel of the sweep is entirely stopped by the cams. action will takeplace.

I have specifically described the preferred embodiment of my invention,but I do not wish to be limited to the exactdetails of constructionshown, but reserve the right to make such changes in form, proportlonand minor details of construction as properly come within-the scope ofthe appended claims.

What .I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a machine for feeding dry material, a hopper havin a dischargeopening in its bottom, a tableielow the hopper to receive carries ageared segment 43 which meshes When the float rises the oppositematerial from the hopper, a horizontal shaft in the hopper, a vibratoryagitator carried by the shaft and a rocking sweep carried by the shaft,said sweep including a downwardly projecting arm having a rightangularly projecting blade movable over the face of the table.

2. In a machine for feeding dry material, a hopper having a dischargeopening in its bottom, a valve for effecting the port area of theopening, a table below the hopper in line with the openin to receivematerial from the hopper, a roc shaft in the hopper, an agitator in thehopper carried by the rock shaft and a vibrating sweep arm connected tothe shaft and movable over the table for moving the material off thetable. 3. In a machine for feeding dry material,

a hopper having a discharge opening in its bottom, a valve for varyingthe effective port area' of the opening, a table below the hopper toreceive material discharged through the opening, agitators in thehopper, a rock shaft for operating the agitators, a crank arm on therock shaft, means carriedby the rock shaft for supporting a. sweep arm,a sweep arm having a lost motion connection with said supporting meanswhereby the supporting means may have certain initial movement beforeactuating the sweep arm and a sweep carried b the arm for dischargingthe material the table.

4. In a machine for feeding dry material, a hopper having a dischargeopening, a rock shaft transversely of the hopper, agitators connected tothe rock shaft, one of which has a portion movable in an are past theopening, 'a rock shaft operating crank arm fast to the rock shaft, meansfor swinging the crank arm back and forth to rock the shaft, a segmentcarried by the shaft, a

sweep arm pivoted to the segment, adjustable stops on the segment onopposite sides of the sweep arm, a table below the hopper in line withthe opening and a sweep carried by the sweep arm.

5. In a machine for feeding dry material,

a hopper having a discharge opening, a rock shaft transversely of thehopper, agitators connected'to the rock shaft, one of which has aportion movable in an are past the opening, a rock shaft operating crankarm fast to the rock shaft, means for swinging the crank arm back andforth to rock the shaft, a segment carried by the shaft, a sweep armpivoted to the segment, adjustable stops on the segment on oppositesides of the sweep arm, a table below the hopper in line with theopening and a. sweep carried by the sweep arm, and a valve for varyingthe effective port'area of the opening.

6. In a machine for feeding dry material, a hopper having a dischargeopening in its bottom, a table below the; opening. onto which thematerial may be fed, a sweep for ELMER E. HARPER.

